Managing Director - Parks & Recreation

Reneé Johnson

M. Renee' Johnson is the Parks & Recreation Managing Director in DeSoto, Texas. Under Johnson's leadership, the Department has leveraged parks and recreation services to expand cultural events, educational enrichment programs, and community partnerships and targeted teen recreation and volunteerism. The DeSoto Parks and Recreation Department, under Johnson’s leadership achieved CAPRA Accreditation in 2016. The Commission for Accreditation of Park and Recreation Agencies accredits park and recreation agencies for excellence in operation and service. DeSoto is one of 166 accredited park and recreation agencies in the United States.

Previously, Johnson was District Manager of the Parks & Recreation Department for the City of Dallas. Johnson was instrumental in leveraging funding and constructing the first downtown dog park operated by the City of Dallas. Johnson has been employed in Parks & Recreation in four cities over the past two decades and has been a speaker in state/regional conferences and at the National Parks and Recreation Congress. Johnson is currently the Program Chair for North Texas Chapter of National Forum for Black Public Administrators, and Vice-Chair of the DFW Director’s Association. She previously served as the Bicycle and Pedestrian Action Committee Chair for the North Central Texas Council of Government and on the National Parks & Recreation Ethnic Minority Society Board. Ms. Johnson received her Bachelor of Science Degree from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.